


Together

by Fallen_Ark_Angel



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-18
Updated: 2020-03-18
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:54:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23203531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fallen_Ark_Angel/pseuds/Fallen_Ark_Angel
Summary: Mira and Laxus are in this together. Sometimes, he just needs a bit of a reminder.
Relationships: Laxus Dreyar/Mirajane Strauss
Kudos: 21





	Together

She was singing, under her breath, but given the state of the hall currently, he could hear her perfectly, there from behind the bar. Laxus was halfheartedly pitching in to help out his poor wife, wiping down mugs and the bar area to speeding along closing up the place that night while she sat at one of the tables, alone and going over the books. Mirajane was better than him at it, figuring out the money situation they found themselves in every quarter. Everyone pegged the woman for dim, but he knew better.

Oh, he knew way better.

Mira was very busy in her calculations then, though her soft singing might point to otherwise. She couldn't even hear herself, Laxus was certain, as she nodded her head along with not the beat of her own words, but rather the ones her headphones supplied. She wrote out her equations in the air, with her magic pen, and seemed complete absorbed in her own world. It was just as well; they needed to get home and get some sleep. It was difficult work, running the guildhall. Mirajane had always thought, once Master Makarov retired, she'd get something of a break. A younger, competent master would hardly need to rely on assistance so heavily from his bar staff and she could go back to only doing her base job.

This was foiled, however, when around the same time that Makarov passed on the title to his grandson, she agreed to a marriage proposal from the same man. Now Mirajane wasn't helping her ailing Master wrangle in his unruly guildhall, but rather supporting her husband and the new image for the hall he wished to craft. And while she did feel a craving at times, for something other than what she'd chosen, Mirajane didn't know what she'd do without them; the long hours, the tedious work, and the unlimited amount of time she and the slayer seemed to spend together.

When she was young, envisioning her future, it involved lots of vanquishing of evil and bandaging up wounds in the downtime. Then she grew and, falling away from that, imagined many seedy bars and her acoustic as her only companion. Now she had a mixture, maybe, in the same bar as ever, not licking her own wounds, but rather taping up those of the others up in the infirmary, while keeping books for her husband's business.

Maybe one day she'd regret it, she knew most people eventually grew resentful of whatever path they chose, but as she yawned through allocating jewels that night, there were few places she would rather be. Out on a job, in the wilderness, hunting out evil, or with a stranger in a strange place after a night of strumming and preforming for even more strangers, those two things might have appealed to her at one point in time, but now…

Things change. Everything always had a way of falling right into place. It could feel mundane, at times, now that she and Laxus both were completely separate from any sort of fast lifestyle. They were behind the scenes people now, fully, and it was kind of...nice.

Laxus thought that Mirajane looked nice, that night, nodding her head along as she sang, so lost in herself that she didn't even feel his gaze. This worked in the man's favor as, eventually, he found himself placing the mug he'd only just grabbed back down, none the cleaner, but also no longer his focus. As he walked around the bar, it was with one destination in mind, and Laxus had to smile some, when his wife jumped just from his touch.

"Dragon," she complained a bit, tugging off one of her magic headphones, frowning a bit at the man. "You startled me."

But he only smiled in return before moving to hold his hand out instead. When Mirajane raised her eye brow, he only insisted with a nod.

"Take," he told her, "my hand. And take off your other headphone, huh? But don't put them away. Turn them up."

Mira made a face at him, hesitant as she asked, "Is this a trap?"

"Would I trick you? Demon?"

"I dunno." Still, she moved to do as he asked before getting to her feet with hardly anymore thought. "But I don't wanna give you the chance."

"If I'm ever tricking you, demon," he assured her, holding tightly the second her palm graced his own, "then it'll definitely be for your benefit."

"I," she hummed with a grin, "cannot make the same assurance."

He knew.

The bar had almost an eerie atmosphere, in the late evenings and early mornings. When it was all but empty and only a few light sources remained, many long shadows were cast and an echo could be heard with every sound. This was true then, in every regard, as Mirajane had left her headphones up, on the table, playing louder now, but seemingly very much so as there were no other sounds to be heard in the hall, giving off an extra eldritch effect. But for the two people in it, one who was raised in it and the other who somehow managed to spend more time in it than he, this was home.

"Dance with me."

Laxus said this as he moved to grab her other hand and Mirajane couldn't help it; she laughed. Openly and with a bright smile. Pulling away slightly, she shook her head.

"Are you joking?" she asked. "This was the trick? Make me think-"

"I told you," he growled, just a bit, equally as playful, "it's not a trick."

"Dragon-"

"Dance with me." And the song changed, almost...magically then, to something softer, and when he reached for her other hand this time, she allowed herself to be pulled along. Grinning at this, Laxus insisted, "C'mon, demon."

She liked it, when he smiled, but she especially liked when he was being so soft and sincere. For all these things to be happening all at once felt confusing and fugue, almost, but welcoming, and she had to hide her own grin in his shirt as they awkwardly took steps together.

It was...weird, because they'd only danced together a handful of times, the most recent being at their wedding, and Laxus was never the best at it. She always had to force him. And while she appreciated the effort in those moments, there was something so much sweeter, in him initiating.

Things fell together though, as they both seemed to relax in it, and he led her through the empty bar, being cautious of the tables and chairs around. As her head rested on his shoulder, Laxus felt lost in the feeling for a bit, but something was still keeping his wife for doing the same.

"Why did you wanna dance, Lax?" she asked, lifting her head a bit, but he only stared on, out at the hall before them for a second, but sighing down into her eyes.

"I dunno." He spoke honestly, his smile real and true. "I just saw you sitting there and I… I hate that you don't get to do this anymore."

"Dance?"

"Have fun. Or that we don't. Together." He sighed some, shoulders slumping a bit as one of his hands untangled from his and moved lower then, to wrap around her waist and pull her close. His lips took a downward turn then as he said, "Running a guild is just more work that I always thought. And I'd hoped you'd have some more freedom, once I took over, but-"

"Dragon, I love being here."

"I know you love the hall," he complained some. "But that doesn't-"

"I don't love the hall." She stopped them, moving along with him, and they were just staring at one another then as Mirajane considered her words. Frowning some, she corrected, "I mean, of course I do. I love the hall."

"Then-"

"But it's not why I love being here. Not anymore. Something's changed." And she moved then, to place both of her hands in the center of his chest, pushing just enough to make the man take a step back before holding firm. With glowing eyes, she insisted, "I love being here because of you, now. More than I ever have before. When I used to do all those extra things for Master, before, it was because I pitied him and cared too much to watch him stumble. But this...this is so much deeper than that. When we're here together, for long hours, when we struggle together, to get the money together or deal with whatever stupid sanction the council's put down on us… It reminds me of my parents."

She looked away then, smiling, but Laxus remained silent, gently rubbing at her back with the hand that had been rested on her waist. Eventually, she blinked away her thoughtful tears before continuing.

"They worked hard, every single day of their lives," she told him as the man only nodded, having heard as much from her and her siblings over the years. "Until the day they died. Whether it was tilling the land or dealing with the animals, and I just… We're in this together, Laxus. All of this. Every second of it. And it means so much more to me, now, somehow, than it did before."

A moment passed before her head was resting against his chest once more and they moved once more, in tandem, to the soft echoing song broadcast through her headphones.

Softly now, Mira murmured against the fabric of his shirt, "But this is nice. Dancing. Dragon."

He chuckled, bowing his head to brush his lips against the soft white locks of his wife. Reaching a hand up, he took the band down from her bangs, smiling at how much nicer they looked, hanging over her eyes. "Yeah, demon," he agreed with a far more content sigh now as she only looked bemused. "It is."

The song ended though, rather abruptly changing to something far more upbeat. When

Mira moved away from him, no doubt to fix this problem, the man was quick to shake his head.

"No, demon," he insisted with a shake of his head before beginning to bounce on his feet a bit, maybe in rhythm, but also maybe missing it by a few counts. As Mira looked on, quite distressed at what was now unfolding, Laxus only assured her, "I can keep up."

"Oh, dragon, no," she tsked as he shook his arms as well, looking so awkward and dorky and out of his element. "You can't."

"Mira-"

"But it's okay." Moving to be the one to grab his hands now, she was quick to pull him along, falling far easier into the lively beat than he had. "I'll help you."

Always.

Nodding, Laxus allowed this because, yeah. Everything was much better when they struggled together. It meant, after all, as he allowed himself to laugh openly at how clumsy he felt, even with the demon's help, that they got to celebrate together.

It's all either one of them ever wanted.


End file.
